Photographic developing apparatus.



.I. S. GREENE.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I, I9I6.

1,225,803. Patented May15,1917.

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J. S. GREENE.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1. 19:6.

1,225,803. Patented May15,191 7.

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' l *HMH NL INVENTOR (fa/e22 5T Q'reerze UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. GREENE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO COMMERCIAL CAMERA 00., OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

rHo'roGnAPHIc :onvnnorme APPARATUS. Y

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentedllay 15, 1917.

Application filed November 1, 1916. Serial No.'128,889.

[ '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JOHN S. GREENE, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photographic Developing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to photography, and more particularly to copying cameras of the type in which a web of sensitive material is exposed and then immediately developed in the one apparatus, and the invention hasfor its object to provide a simple and efiicient developing attachment for such cameras which will offer certain con- Veniences to the operator in the matter of handling the print during development and delivering it for withdrawal. The improvements are directed in part toward providing means whereby the excess of liquid developer adhering to the print will be pressed back into the liquid container so that the supply of developer may be conserved and providing for delivery of the print at a point accessible to the operators fingers inan expeditious and certain manner. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain im-' provements and combinations of parts, all

as will be hereinafter more fully described,

the novel features being pointed'out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through thebody of a copying camera, pro vided with a developing apparatus constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the developing pan or container and its attachments; 1

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view through the developing apparatus shown in Fig. 1', but with the parts in different position;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3, but showing the parts in still another position, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate the same parts.

The whole of the camera or taking part stood from Fig. 1, in which 1 indicates the camera casing or body-and 2 the back, which two parts in conjunction with the usual bellows 3 leading from the lensprovide an exposure chamber 1. This exposure chamber a is arranged forwardly of a film chamber 5 and a chamber 6, the partitions 7 and 8 of which jointly constitute a wall that defines the focal plane of the camera and against which is supported theweb 9 of sensitive material in position for exposure. The web is drawn from a supply'spool 10 located in the chamber 5 by means of feed rollersll and 12 arranged at the bottom of the wall 8 tangent thereto, the said rollers being suitably operated from the exterior of the camera to thrust the print. after exposure in the focal plane downwardly through a slot or opening 13 into a pan or. fluid container 14 that is filled to about the level shown with de-' ing chamber, and to keep this chamber dark it is covered, in the present instance, partly by the camera and partly by a cover 21 that may be'hinged at 22 to the back 2 so that it may be raised and access gainedto the pan 14. There is another cover portion 23 hinged at 2a to the cover portion 21, and this portion may be independently raised to uncover only a portion of the rear end of the pan-for purposes that will hereinafter appear. Just in rear of this rear end of the developer container 14 is a receptacle 25 for the hypo or fixing bath, the fluid in which is indicated at 26. The print is drawn out of the developer-and immediately immersed in the hypo with 'one'conti'nuous motion, being drawn over a lip 27 provided on the developer pan 141 to overlap the adjacent rim of the hypo container 25.

and 12 into the developing chamber through the slot 13 it enters between a curved guide 28 at the forward or receiving end of the pan 14 that directs its advancing edge rearwa-rdly and an adjacent submerging guide or rib 29 that keeps it below the surface of the developing solution. There are a plurality of the guides 28 and 29, as shown in Fig. 2, the latter being carried on trans verse bridge pieces 30 spanning the pan. Of course, the rollers 11 and 12 can only partially advance the print into the pan 1 1 and its rear end is left projecting upwardly in the neighborhood of the slot 13. Additional feeding devices are therefore provided to insure the complete immersion of the print,

and in the present instance these comprise parallel shafts 31 and 32 spanning the pan and each provided with rubber or similar yielding paddles 33 that operate between certain of the immersing guides A crank 3 1 (Fig. 2) accessible on the exterior of the apparatus rotates the shaft 31 and also the shaft 32 in unison therewith by means of a sprocket connection 35. The paddles 33 wipe gently against the upper (uncoated) surface of the print and urge it rearwardly until its rear or advancing edge abuts against a stop plate 36 projecting below the immersing guides 29, in which position it is completely immersed, whether it be the longest print that the apparatus is adaptcd to make or a shorter one. Continued operation of the paddles does not thereafter disturb the print and the paddles additionally act as agitators for keeping the developer in motion so that it flows over the print in currents that insure an even developing action.

Vhen the print is in the position of that shown at 19 in Fig. 1, and has remained there for a suflicient period to be developed, it is removed in the following manner:

The small cover 23 is partially raised, as in Fig. 3. The stop plate 36 is pivoted to this cover at 37 by a knuckle oint, as shown in greater detail in Fig. 5, in connection with a limiting flange 38 on the cover that prevents the stop plate from swinging forwardly. The stop plate is therefore also raised so that it no longer obstructs the progress of the print and rotation of the paddles 33, then moves the latter rearwardly and up the inclined portions 39 of the guides 28, which are at the rear or delivery end of the pan 14-, the edge of the print finally projecting over the rims of both of the containers 1 1- and 25 in a position readily accessible to the fingers of the operator, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position it rests upon a lower fixed wringing member 4E0 located on the lip 27 and constituted in the present instance by a rounded rib of smooth metal. As the cover 23 is released. a cooperating wringing element 11 carried thereby and which may consist of a rubber roller falls upon the upper surface of the print, where it rests by gravity on the element %0, and as the operator draws the print out of the pan 1 1 and chamber 20 to immerse it in the hypo 26, the wringors express the surplus developer which flows back into the container 14:. It will be seen that this not only conserves the supply of developer, which is desirable but prevents the pollution of the hypo thereby, which is likewise desirable. The cooperating relationship of the wringing element is illustrated in Fig. l.

The lower edge of the stop plate 36 is preferably provided with some very loose rollers 12 which prevent any ap n'eciable friction on the print 19. It is also to be noted that the depending plate 36 maintains its vertical position so that it cannot pinch the print against the inclined guide 39, and it furthermore acts a light guard while the cover 23 is raised that prevents a greater portion of the light admitted from reaching back into the developing chamber.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container adapted to receive sheets of photographic material at one end and having an inclined guide for delivering them out of the container at the opposite end, of means for feeding the sheets up the inclined guide.

2. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container adapted to receive sheets of photographic material at one end and having an inclined guide for delivering them out of the container at the opposite end, of a rotary paddle adapted to act upon the sheets while in the container and advance them up the inclined guide.

3. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid con tainer adapted to receive sheets of photographic material at one end and having an inclined guide for delivering them out of the container at the opposite end, of a pair of wringing elements arranged adjacent to the guide and means for feeding the sheets up the latter and between the wringing elements.

1. In a photographic developing apparatus; the combination with a liquid container adapted to receive sheets of photo-- graphic material and having an inclined guide at one end leading out of the container, of a fixed wringing element adjacent to the guide, a movable wringing element normally cooperating therewith and adapted to be raised by the operator into spaced relationship, and a paddle device for feed ing the sheets up the guide and between the wringing elements.

5. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container adapted to receive sheets of photographic material and having an inclined guide at one end leading out of the container, and a displaceable cover for the latter arranged over the guide, of a fixed wringing element adjacent to the guide, a movable wringing element cooperating therewith and carried by the cover and means for feeding a sheet up the guide and between the wringing elements when the cover is raised.

6. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container having an inclined guide at its delivery end, of a paddle device for feeding photographic sheets through the containertoward the guide and for agitating the liquid, and a displaceable stop for preventing the sheets from advancing onto the guide.

7. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container having an inclined guide at its delivery end and a displaceable cover over the same, of a paddle device for feeding photographic sheets through the container toward the guide and a stop on the cover for preventing the sheets from advancing onto the guide until the cover is raised.

8. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid container having an inclined guide at its delivery end and a displaceable cover over the same, of a paddle device for feeding photographic sheets through the container toward the guide, and a swinging stop plate on the cover for preventing the sheets from advancing onto the guide until the cover is raised.

9. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a fluid container having an inclined guide at its delivery end, and a wringing element adjacent to the guide, of a hinged cover above the latter, a second wringing element carried thereby to cooperate with the first when the cover is down, means for feeding a sheet from the container onto the guide and between the wringing elements when the cover is raised, and a light guard depending from the cover.

10. In a photographic developing apparatus, the combination with a liquid con- F tamer having an inclined guide at its delivery end and a wringing element adjacent to the guide, of a hinged cover above the latter, a second wringing element carried thereby to cooperate with the first when the cover is down, a paddle device for agitating the fluid and for feeding a sheet of photoraphic material from the container onto t e guide and between the wringing ele ments when the cover is raised, and a swing ing plate on the underside of the cover adapted to act as a light guard when the latter is raised and as a stop for preventing the advance of the sheet by the paddle device when the cover is down.

JOHN S. GREENE. Witnesses:

RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH, HARRIET VAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). G. 

